Adventures in Baking
by Writes with Block
Summary: Eowyn tries her hand at baking. Just another shameless excuse for fluff. rolls in the fluff


Adventures in Baking  
  
A Faramir/Eowyn Fic  
  
By: Writes with Block  
  
Eowyn looked down at the pie with pride. The edges were burnt, the rest of the crust looked under cooked, and the top had caved in slightly but it was most definitely a pie.  
  
The White Lady of Rohan had never tried her hand at baking before. What did a Shieldmaiden need with baking skills anyway? They would hardly come in handy during battle.  
  
'You are not a Shieldmaiden anymore,' she reminded herself firmly. 'You are a wife and you should at least be able to make your husband something to eat.'  
  
She had been married to Faramir a few months and, while the majority of the people adored her as much as they adored their Steward, there were those who felt their Steward had chosen his wife poorly. They called her a wild, ignorant woman who had none of the qualities that made a woman a good wife.  
  
She had told Faramir none of this. It would only cause him undue pain for he wished his people to love his wife as he did. If her lack of wifely qualities displeased him, and Eowyn had to snort at that thought, Faramir would never ask her to change. He loved her not because she was sweet and docile. He loved her because she was fierce and wild. He loved her because of who she was.  
  
And she utterly adored him for it. He was a sweet, caring man and that's why she'd swallowed her pride and begged Rosie, the wife of her hobbit friend Samwise, for her best recipes.  
  
And she had finally managed to make something presentable. Weeks of practicing in secret finally yielded results and she would now have the pleasure of presenting him with a sweet treat.  
  
She did so love to surprise him. Faramir was a man unaccustomed to pleasant surprises. A small, sheepish smile would appear on his face, as if he were wondering why someone would pay such attention to him. And his eyes. Oh his eyes. They would shine so brightly, clearly displaying all his affection and love in one glance.  
  
Eowyn shook herself from her musings. She needed to take the pie to Faramir before it cooled.  
  
*****  
  
Eowyn found her husband, as she knew she would, in his office with one book held close to his face and several others opened before him on his desk. The people of Rohan had no love of books and Eowyn found it difficult to understand how he could spend all day with them but she only shrugged her lack of understanding aside.  
  
Books brought him joy and, sometimes, when he was concentrating particularly hard, his tongue would stick out the corner of his mouth. That was not the case at the moment and Eowyn pouted briefly before remembering why she came. She stepped into the room and Faramir, his Ranger habits ever present, looked up quickly.  
  
A broad smile sprang to Faramir's face when he saw her and he hurried to join her in the doorway. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?" he asked and kissed her gently.  
  
Eowyn couldn't help smiling up at him. His words were always sweet and she had no doubt that they were completely sincere. "I have brought you a surprise, my husband," she answered, tracing the strong line of his jaw.  
  
"A surprise?" Faramir echoed. His eyes danced with a sudden, joyous light as he bent his head to kiss her in a quiet display of thanks. "And what did I do to deserve a surprise?"  
  
'Aside from being a kind, brave, generous man who has not been giving the praise he deserves?' she wondered but out loud she asked, "Must I have a reason to bring my husband a surprise?"  
  
"I suppose not," Faramir answered but he was wearing a shy, self-deprecating smile.  
  
Eowyn knew that smile well. That smile meant he was listening to the voice of his father in his mind criticize his every action. That smile meant that he still believed his father's poison words. She didn't allow the pain of this realization to show on her face and she took Faramir's hand in hers, leading him back to the desk.  
  
"What kind of surprise is it?" he asked as she pushed him back into his seat.  
  
"Not telling," Eowyn teased, her eyes sparkling as she smiled down at him. "Just close your eyes."  
  
He did as told and she hurried back to the hall where the pie was waiting. She placed it quietly on his desk and, fidgeting with the silverware she'd bought, she found herself feeling nervous.  
  
'I faced down the Witch King and I balk at giving my husband a pie?!' she thought, exasperated with her reluctance but unable to do anything about it. 'I hope he likes it,' she thought with a sigh.  
  
"Open your eyes."  
  
"A pie?" he asked, his voice hinted with confusion. "Did you make this?" he asked suddenly, turning to look at her. "For me?" he asked hopefully, a boyish smile curving his lips.  
  
"Of course for you," Eowyn giggled. She'd never seen him smile like that before and it made the burns on her fingers and palms well worth it.  
  
"You never mentioned that you cooked," Faramir replied, a laugh behind his words. This truly was a surprise and it warmed his heart that she would spend her free time doing this for him.  
  
"I just started learning," Eowyn said, omitting the weeks of unsuccessful practice. There was no reason he needed to know about her many and various culinary failures. "I thought you might try my first success," she continued, cringing when the statement came out far less secure than she had intended.  
  
"Of course I will," Faramir assured enthusiastically. Without waiting for further invitation he picked up the fork, dug out a large chunk, and stuck it in his mouth.  
  
Eowyn held her breath as she watched him first chew and then swallow, her hands clasped tightly together, her palms sweaty. She fought against the urge to ask him about it, not wanting him to see how nervous she really was.  
  
"It's good," he said, smiling up at her and putting another chunk in his mouth. "Really good," he added, speaking around a mouthful of pie.  
  
Eowyn felt a large, foolish smile spread across her face but could do nothing to stop it. He liked it. He said it was good!  
  
"Really?" she asked, trying to sound nonplussed. "Do you think so?"  
  
Faramir nodded, his mouth too full to answer her. Eowyn grinned down at him. All of that hard work finally paid off. He was stuffing his face happily, a grin on his face as he ate and Eowyn giggled softly. He really was too cute sometimes.  
  
She reached out and picked a small piece of pie for herself. If he liked it that much she didn't want to miss out on anything. She put it in her mouth and almost gagged.  
  
It tasted horrible!  
  
The pie crust was crumbly and full of lumps. The filling was bitter and crunchy with seeds. The whole thing tasted faintly like soured mead and rotten berries.  
  
"Really good?" she growled, her voice oddly hushed by outrage.  
  
Faramir's eyes widened and he put the fork down slowly as Eowyn glared at him, her eyes ablaze with anger. He swallowed what he had stuffed in his mouth slowly and tried to clear his throat. It didn't work well as the pie crust was terribly dry and had sucked all the moisture from his mouth.  
  
"Really good?" Eowyn repeated. "It's horrible!"  
  
"It's not that bad," Faramir mumbled.  
  
"Not that bad!? It tastes like something a horse vomited up! And you sit there and lie to me and tell me that you like and it you keep shoving this…. this… foul concoction into your mouth!"  
  
"I didn't want to your hurt feelings," Faramir admitted sheepishly. "It's not bad for your first try and…"  
  
Faramir's words faded into the background as Eowyn seethed with outrage. 'First try?' she repeated to herself. 'First try? I've been trying for months and he sits there and lies about it!?'  
  
Faramir was still trying to explain his behavior, his eyes downcast and his voice hushed. Her patience towards her husband's desperate need for approval snapped suddenly and before she realized what she had done she'd picked up the pie and dropped it square on his head.  
  
Silence filled the room as Eowyn stared at her husband in shock. The pie tin slid off the top of his head and fell to the floor with a muted clank. Chunks of pie crust fell to rest on his clothing and pie filing dripped slowly off his hair. As Eowyn watched, mortified, a berry tumbled down Faramir's forehead and off the tip of his nose. A soft squeak escaped Eowyn's throat as she frantically searched for something, anything, to say.  
  
Faramir looked up at her and her throat tightened. It took her a moment to realize that the glint in his eyes was humor and not anger but by that time he had grabbed her around the waist, scoped a handful of pie mess from his hair and rubbed it all over her face.  
  
She shrieked in outrage and tried to shove him away but he persisted in covering her with the sloop, rubbing it into her hair and clothing. She managed to wrestle herself from his arms but he chased her across the room, howling with laughter as she screamed at him to stop. They tumbled to the floor and Eowyn continued to fight but she was pinned to the ground by Faramir's weight.  
  
"Do you yield?" he asked, holding a handful of pie menacingly above her face.  
  
"Never," Eowyn hissed defiantly.  
  
"And that is why I love you," Faramir murmured and dropped his head to hers for a gentle kiss. "But you do realize that I must punish you. If word got out that I allowed my wife to treat me this way my men would have no respect for me."  
  
"That is true but I will tell no one what has transpired here. Perhapse my gentle husband would allow me this one transgression?" Eowyn responded, trying valiantly not to laugh. "I will make it worth your while," she purred, pulling his lips down to hers.  
  
"Just this once," Faramir replied with a chuckle.  
  
"I will do my best to show you my gratitude. Faramir?"  
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
"If you ever lie to me again you will regret it."  
  
"Yes my lady."   
  
****  
  
Just doing a bit of editing. Gotta clean house and everything like that. And I decided to put a thank you note on this while I was at it.  
  
A very big thank you too:  
  
Natters  
  
Kaz  
  
more from LLes  
  
Dimgwrthien  
  
Caderyn  
  
Lindaleriel  
  
...  
  
Asia Cwiakala  
  
wrtierbrate  
  
MyOwnLittleWorld  
  
AND  
  
everyone on Live Journal who was kind enought to review  
  
THANKS YOU GUYS!!!! ^_^ 


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